Henderson County High bomb threat suspect held over to grand jury

The man accused of threatening to set off bombs at Henderson County High School had been motivated by a desire to protect a bullied younger sister, according to testimony Thursday in Henderson District Court.

Brenden C. Mathis, 20, has been charged with second-degree terroristic threatening and was held over to the grand jury, which will hear the case on June 11. He remains lodged in the Henderson County Detention Center. He has been approved for release with a leg monitor, but that won't occur until his house is equipped with the necessary landline telephone.

A preliminary hearing Thursday that lasted about 30 minutes was entirely taken up with the testimony of Henderson Police Department Detective Shannon Troutman.

The incident took place April 21 at the McDonald's restaurant at Washington and Green streets, according to Troutman, who testified that Mathis had been talking with a younger sister when he loudly began describing how he could use explosives to create the greatest number of deaths and injuries.

Unbeknown to Mathis, two high school girls were sitting nearby and became alarmed at the direction the conversation had taken. "They were sitting about three tables away," Troutman said. "He was talking at such high levels that just about everybody in the restaurant could hear him."

One of the girls surreptitiously took a photo of Mathis with her cellphone and later reported the incident to the police, at which time she provided a copy of the photo. But while the police were beginning their investigation the girl began her own investigation. She went to the Tri-Fest and showed the photo to a number of people until she was finally able to find someone who recognized the man. She then informed the police of the name of their suspect.

The girls were so traumatized by the incident that both did not attend school the following day, Troutman said.

Troutman said both Mathis and his entire family were "more than cooperative" when contacted by police, and a search of the house failed to turn up neither explosives, bomb components nor instructions for making explosives.

The sister who accompanied Mathis to the restaurant tried to hush him, warning that he would get in trouble if he kept talking that way. The two had been discussing the problems of another sister who had been bullied at the high school.

Troutman said Mathis was "pretty protective" of his sisters and that is why he got so animated at the restaurant. "She'd reported the incident several times and the teachers and the faculty were not helping their sister." The bullied girl was told, in so many words, "Just grow up."

Henderson County School Superintendent Thomas Richey was asked for a response and provided the following via email: "We are unable to respond as we are not privileged to the facts of the case."

When Mathis was asked about his experiences at the high school, "he said he did have a little bit of hostility toward the school" because he was kicked out of school three days before graduation and has yet to get his diploma, Troutman said. Coupled with the alleged bullying of his younger sister, "he appeared to have a pretty solid motive."

Furthermore, the detective testified, Mathis' Facebook page contained photos of a doll before and after it was blown up, which raised a red flag with Troutman, although further investigation showed Mathis was only a spectator at that event, which occurred Nov. 24, 2011.

Troutman said Mathis had a fascination with the 1999 Columbine High School shootings in Colorado, where Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 students and one teacher, and injured other 21 students before committing suicide. Mathis read every book and watched every film he could find on that subject. "He was really intrigued with what caused these guys to do that," Troutman said.